Michigan's Upper Peninsula grabbed me a few years ago and hasn't let go.
Maybe it was trips to the Porcupine Mountains, or trips to visit to Sara while she was a student at Michigan Tech in
Houghton, or the Lake Superior shore, or the thousands of miles of roads perfect for motorcycle exploring. Whatever the reasons, I always go back.
Saturday's trip had two missions: first, to enjoy the autumnal beauty of the place, and second, to visit two favorite shops before they closed for the winter.
It was sunny when we hit the border but then, all of a sudden, it was winter. Serious winter, with sleet, snow, hail and ice.
The winter storm photo was taken near
Houghton. The driving conditions were horrible, made worse by other drivers having forgotten how to drive in winter conditions. Most were traveling at either 10 or 60 miles per hour, none in between. It was time for a break.
So we stopped for a lunch of indigenous food. And in
Houghton, that means pasties.
Mmmm.
There were awards on the wall of the bakery announcing that its pasties were chosen as the best in
Houghton and Hancock twice in the last three years. Seems right to me; they were the best I've had, and I've been in a few pasty shops in the U.P.
I noticed an important event as we were leaving the parking lot.
My car hit the 200,000 mile mark. It's high-mileage, like I have become of late. We're both current on our maintenance. It had it's major service in August, mine will be later this month. Neither of us has any warranty left.
Back on the road, we headed to the first stop on the day's mission. The Wooden Spoon, in
Mowhawk, north of Calumet in the
Keweenaw Peninsula. The owner makes jams and jellies, mostly from wild fruit that he picks in the area, and an assortment of the most wonderful cookies and breads. The
thimbleberry jam alone is worth the trip. We stocked up. Click
here for their website. Christmas is coming!
We took of through the snow toward the west side of the
Keweenaw toward our next destination. The wind picked up, gusts of 50+ miles per hour according to the
WX report.
We stopped along the Lake Superior shore. To quote George Costanza "The seas were angry that day, my friend!" Okay, not the seas, but Lake Superior.
Weary of wind-blown sand abrading my eyes any longer, I hopped back in the car and took off toward the last stop of the trip.
Part way up the west side of the
Keweenaw is the monastery of the
Society of St. John, a congregation of monks that somehow wound up along the shore of Lake Superior in the
Keweenaw.
The monks earn part of their living making jams, jellies, bread and cakes, then selling them seasonally at their store, which is called
The Jampot. This is incredible stuff, made by quiet monks who must spend a great amount of their contemplative hours praying for perfect recipes and ingredients.
Yowza, this is some of the best stuff on the planet! Christmas is coming....
Mission(s) accomplished, we headed back south. The snow abated, the clouds parted, and part way home we were treated to the sunny spectacle of brilliantly colored leaves dusted in powdery snow.
A beautiful day, by any measure. One for the memory book.
(You can click on any picture for a larger image)
